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Ready…set…crawl! May 8 event celebrates World Fair Trade Day
Every year, thousands of people around the world celebrate World Fair Trade Day. You can join the celebration this year on Saturday, May 8 at Milwaukee’s third Annual Fair Trade Crawl. The crawl promotes socially responsible shopping right here in our city — the first city in the US to be named a Fair Trade City. The event will be based at the Outpost Natural Foods location in Bay View.

The crawl is an opportunity for Milwaukee shoppers to support local businesses, as well as international workers and artisans. More than 30 local businesses in or around the greater Milwaukee area are expected to be involved in the event — businesses that are committed to supporting fair trade certified products.

Fair trade certified products come from farms and suppliers that provide fair labor wages, as well as safe and healthy working conditions. Additionally, fair trade certified farms apply responsible methods of production; the farms have access to educational resources for organic farming, water conservation and reforestation.

On the day of the crawl, visit all three Outpost locations to become fair trade savvy by learning interesting facts and sampling fair trade delicacies.

The three Outpost stores will be prize pick-up spots for those who crawl to more than six locations — this year’s prizes include gift certificates to fair trade stores in the city, WigWam socks, Fair Hills wine, Wholesome Sweeteners products, Dr. Bronner’s soaps and more. Brochures, available at participating locations, include a map of businesses and a “treasure hunt” page.

The educational treasure hunt is new to the crawl this year and provides an opportunity to win prizes while learning about fair trade products. Each participating shop will highlight a special fair trade product and provide information about it. Crawl to the shops and hunt down these feature products, jotting down the issues relating to them. You will learn what makes these goods so special and — more importantly — you can feel more connected to the producers behind these global products.

In addition to the new treasure hunt, what makes the crawl unique this year is its theme — “Fair Trade My Home,” which encourages us to think about how we can incorporate fair trade into each room of our home. By bringing fair trade into our homes, we make it part of our lifestyle. After all, fair trade goes beyond coffee, chocolate and tea.

Other crawl highlights include fair trade discounts, tastings and activities; as well as unique, eco-friendly Mother’s Day gifts — perfect for ethical, last minute shopping!

Among the businesses participating this year are: Fair Trade for All, Anodyne Café, Apple-a-Day Massage, Future Green, National Café, Sven’s European Café, Sweeny Todd, Amaranth Café, Authentic Journeys, Four Corners of the World, Beans & Barley, Chartreuse, Go Earth, Lillies, Plowshare, Trails to Bridges, Stone Creek Coffee and Alterra coffee roasters. Businesses without a shop, such as Rishi tea, Argan Oil, The Basics Shop and Cream City Soap are also among those participating, and will set up booths for the event.

The Fair Trade Crawl only happens once a year, and last year more than 1,000 shoppers in the greater Milwaukee area participated. Check with your favorite fair trade store for open hours that day, and make sure you don’t miss out on any of the fun this year — see you on Saturday, May 8!

For more information, visit the Milwaukee fair trade website.

— Alicia Boknevitz